However, Jason's voice-over agent Lynda Ronan told RadioTimes.com that the first thing she knew about the revival was when the news of the commission broke this morning. She added: “I don’t know how anybody could think of doing Danger Mouse without David Jason. It would be unthinkable. We all grew up with him and I cannot imagine anyone else doing it. But no-one has approached me."

The BBC insisted that a decision had still not been made, so Jason could still be in the frame.

A spokeswoman said: “There's no news yet on who will voice the new characters. It is still very early days in the show’s production cycle and final decisions have not yet been made. Any announcements about the voice cast will be made at a later date.”

However it seems unlikely that the production would have been okayed by the BBC without the Corporation having at least an inkling of how it would like the new Danger Mouse to sound.

And one man who has emerged as a potential replacement for Jason is Stephen Fry, who is favourite to voice the character according to Ladbrokes, with odds of 5/1 for the role.

Other actors said to be in contention include Russell Brand at 6/1 and David Walliams at 10/1.

Most of the contenders are male, although Dawn French at 20/1 is the one female option.

Matthew Shaddick of Ladbrokes said: "It's going to be a hard job to follow David Jason as the voice of Danger Mouse, but we think Fry could be in with a squeak."